A blog recounting the trials and tribulations of an unfit guy as he prepares to take part in the 2013 Manx Telecom Parish Walk: an 85-mile-long walk around the 17 parish churches of the Isle of Man.
Can he do it? Will he even make it to Braddan? Only time will tell...

Tuesday, 2 April 2013

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Evening all! In the improbable event that you're waiting on tenterhooks for the resolution of my midweek dilemma (whether to resume training or not after a bout of man flu) my stats tell the story:

Distance (miles)

Time (hh:mm)

Energy (kcals)

Since last post (27 Mar 2013)

2.2

00:45*

500*

Since records began (27 Dec 2012)

264.5

74:21

47358

*Estimated

I felt worse again on Thursday morning, so I stayed at home for another day. On Friday I went into the office by tram, and the 2.2 miles represents my walk home that evening after a few drinks with my colleagues... mainly because public transport is pretty sparse that time of night, and I hate taking taxis.

Today is the first day I've been really keyed up to get out again, but the fates were against us: when we got to our chosen spot (a nature reserve at the edge of the city) a snow flurry had started. The first snow of winter was on 27 October 2012, so we're now into our seventh consecutive month of snow. I'm seriously thinking of moving to Siberia for the milder climate!

I'm now more-or-less back to full health, so no more excuses: I'm determined to be posting 30+ miles this time next week.

Equipment
Inspired by Tony McNally's latest post my attention has turned back to kit. With less than 12 weeks to the big event it's time to get myself a second pair of shoes. Tony makes the excellent point that most trainers are only good for 300-500 miles. Even with low mileage weeks like this one and sometimes using my older trekking shoes during the colder months I must have done close to 200 miles in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12s I bought just after Christmas. I'm inclined to get another identical pair (or possibly the next iteration GTS 13s), taking the view that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. By alternating the pairs I hope to ensure that both remain in a decent condition until 22 June. My mission this week: to find somewhere to buy them locally, or a supplier willing to ship them to me...

A question to experienced Parish Walkers: are there any non-obvious items that you now find essential?

1 comment:

One thing I wouldn't like to be without is my hi-viz bib. It has velcro fasteners on the sides. These are advertised as being there to allow you to adjust the size. However, for the Parish, where you might be putting your bib on and off several times during the race - often whilst still walking - those tabs make life SO much easier. And it was only about £5 from Amazon. That, a good bottle belt and a waterproof jacket that will stow away in it's own pocket are, to my mind, the real essentials outside the obvious.